Spruce Up Efforts Derailed Companies Hinder Attempts To Get Amtrak Train Station Cleanup On Track

September 16, 1987|By Vivian Perry of The Sentinel Staff

KISSIMMEE — Visitors who disembark at the city's train station are greeted by peeling paint and boarded-up windows, a situation the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce would like to remedy.

But chamber officials say their attempts to discuss a possible station clean-up project with CSX Transportation, which owns the property, have been fruitless.

Inquiries to Amtrak, which operates the station, have elicited only polite form letters and no action.

''They just seem to be unresponsive,'' said Don Abernethy, chairman of the chamber's image task force. ''I just don't think they care.''

Abernethy began writing letters to CSX officials in early spring.

He shifted his attention to Amtrak this summer after being told the railroad company would have to agree to a cleanup.

Abernethy received letters from Amtrak saying his requests would be forwarded to the proper parties. But, he said, the matter appears to have been dropped by the company.

Abernethy has dreams of enticing Amtrak not only to clean up the station but to sponsor a promotional program that would lure tourists to Osceola with the promise of a train ride and a visit to Walt Disney World.

While he realizes that may be a big order to fill, Abernethy said he would settle for permission from Amtrak for local groups to proceed with the cleanup.

A fresh coat of paint would go a long way toward solving the problem, he said.

Rotten boards and peeling paint hang from the building. The grounds are clogged with weeds and several front windows have boards nailed over them.

Traffic through the station is far from heavy, with only two northbound trains and two southbound trains stopping daily.

Chamber Executive Vice President Les Haskew said a company has volunteered to spearhead the clean-up project as a community service.

But local hands are tied until the companies give their permission, he said.

Kissimmee/St. Cloud Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Jo Farmer said she wrote to Amtrak more than a month ago to express concern about the station's condition. She has not received a response, she said.

Farmer said she received a letter about the station's condition from the chamber but she has not discussed its status with chamber representatives.

Nancy Dowling, Amtrak district sales manager in Orlando, said she forwarded Farmer's letter to the company's Washington, D.C., office.

Amtrak project manager Edward Jenkins, who received a letter from Abernethy, said he was surprised to learn that the company's passenger services department had not responded to the inquiries.

Jenkins said one obstacle to the project is that CSX would have to give permission for the building to be cleaned up. CSX officials were unavailable for comment Tuesday.

While other communities have undertaken similar projects, the proposal creates liability and labor problems for Amtrak, Jenkins said.

Unions that represent painters and other workers sometimes object to having work done by non-union employees, he said.

''It's not just a simple matter of writing a letter and saying, 'Fine, just don't paint it pink,' '' he said.

Jenkins said Amtrak's weak financial status has prevented the company from maintaining the station.